fter advertising its efforts to produce environmentally friendly fuels from algae for over a decade, Exxon Mobil is now quietly walking away from its most heavily publicized climate solution.
Exxon has slashed its support for Viridos, a biotech company based in La Jolla, California, that operated as the oil giant’s key technical partner since it began its algae push in 2009.
With Exxon funding drying up and difficulty finding other backers, the biotech firm laid off 60% of its staff on Dec. 27, according to Viridos executives.
The biotech company said it is still moving forward with algae research.
Exxon, meanwhile, has also halted funding for a multimillion-dollar algae project at the Colorado School of Mines at the end of last year, after supporting the work for eight years.
Another Exxon-backed venture with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is set to end within weeks.
Exxon confirmed that it’s pulling back on funding for algae in favor of other technologies now being worked on by its Low Carbon Solutions division.
“At this point we have other programs that are ready for deployment,” said
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Published on 2/20/2023 (30 days ago) Solar, Wind & EV's